Fonts and antialiasing
why do some atialias and some dont?
Sunday, February 11, 2007 by I.R. Brainiac | Discussion: Skinning
With some fonts(like Tahoma),no matter how I set the antialias feature in Skinstudio,theywont antialias.
Other fonts will...whats the secret?
My system is using standard font smoothing because I use a crt.
thomassen
Reply #2 Sunday, February 11, 2007 5:45 AM
Reply #2 Sunday, February 11, 2007 5:45 AM
With standard font smoothing the font will only smooth at a certain size. If they are too small they will be aliased. This information is stored inside the font itself and can vary.
Does the fonts anti-alias at larger size? Does this only occur in SkinsStudio, or is it system wide?
Bebi Bulba: Your Arial font doesn't anti-alias with ClearType? How bizzare. ClearType should anti-alias all fonts. Can you post a screenie of samples?
Does the fonts anti-alias at larger size? Does this only occur in SkinsStudio, or is it system wide?
Bebi Bulba: Your Arial font doesn't anti-alias with ClearType? How bizzare. ClearType should anti-alias all fonts. Can you post a screenie of samples?
I.R. Brainiac
Reply #3 Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:20 PM
Reply #3 Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:20 PM
I thought it might be something like that .I have the clear type tuner but on a crt,sometimes clear type is more like smear type.
So thats why arial black dosnt antialias small but airstrip 4 does.
Thanks guys,I was getting crosseyed trying to figure that one.
So thats why arial black dosnt antialias small but airstrip 4 does.
Thanks guys,I was getting crosseyed trying to figure that one.
I.R. Brainiac
Reply #4 Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:22 PM
Reply #4 Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:22 PM
I need a small good looking font for buttons and menus...any suggestions?
NightTrainthedark
Reply #5 Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:32 PM
Reply #5 Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:32 PM
calibri, you can get it from my warsux skin. 
I.R. Brainiac
Reply #7 Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:57 PM
I thought that one looked bad unless clear type was on...
thanks Craig,I will give her a go.
Reply #7 Sunday, February 11, 2007 12:57 PM
calibri, you can get it from my warsux skin.
I thought that one looked bad unless clear type was on...
thanks Craig,I will give her a go.
I.R. Brainiac
Reply #8 Sunday, February 11, 2007 1:07 PM
Reply #8 Sunday, February 11, 2007 1:07 PM
Thanks Randy,that was way more than I already knew... 
PurrBall
Reply #9 Sunday, February 11, 2007 1:20 PM
Reply #9 Sunday, February 11, 2007 1:20 PM
I have never seen ClearType have issues on a CRT.
thomassen
Reply #10 Sunday, February 11, 2007 1:56 PM
That's because ClearType uses the spesific way that the RGB colours are located in LCD monitor. It uses the R, G and B elements as subpixels. But as CRT monitors are buildt differently they often don't look very well.
The Calibri font is part of the new fonts from MS shipping with Office 2007. They where specificity designed with ClearType in mind. They still work without ClearType though, but loose some of their distinction.
When I was still using Windows 2000 I got hold of a program that allowed me to change how font's anti-aliased. I managed to change the Tahoma and Verdana font to anti-alias at less than 14pt. Needed to do a bit og hackery to change the file as it's a system font. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/664467/
Larabiefonts http://www.larabiefonts.com/ got some good quality free fonts. Not all are suitiable for small screen reading so you might want to browse a little. They also mostly include a very wide range of character.
Reply #10 Sunday, February 11, 2007 1:56 PM
I have the clear type tuner but on a crt,sometimes clear type is more like smear type.
That's because ClearType uses the spesific way that the RGB colours are located in LCD monitor. It uses the R, G and B elements as subpixels. But as CRT monitors are buildt differently they often don't look very well.
calibri, you can get it from my warsux skin.
I thought that one looked bad unless clear type was on...
thanks Craig,I will give her a go.
I thought that one looked bad unless clear type was on...
thanks Craig,I will give her a go.
The Calibri font is part of the new fonts from MS shipping with Office 2007. They where specificity designed with ClearType in mind. They still work without ClearType though, but loose some of their distinction.
When I was still using Windows 2000 I got hold of a program that allowed me to change how font's anti-aliased. I managed to change the Tahoma and Verdana font to anti-alias at less than 14pt. Needed to do a bit og hackery to change the file as it's a system font. http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/664467/
Larabiefonts http://www.larabiefonts.com/ got some good quality free fonts. Not all are suitiable for small screen reading so you might want to browse a little. They also mostly include a very wide range of character.
I.R. Brainiac
Reply #11 Sunday, February 11, 2007 3:05 PM
so would that be a local fix or could you export the font with your WB?
Reply #11 Sunday, February 11, 2007 3:05 PM
When I was still using Windows 2000 I got hold of a program that allowed me to change how font's anti-aliased. I managed to change the Tahoma and Verdana font to anti-alias at less than 14pt. Needed to do a bit og hackery to change the file as it's a system font.
so would that be a local fix or could you export the font with your WB?
I.R. Brainiac
Reply #12 Sunday, February 11, 2007 3:08 PM
Reply #12 Sunday, February 11, 2007 3:08 PM
clear type does make some fonts on a crt better(that calibri is one)but most look a little off.
I'm not a total doofus,I knew clear type was mainly for lcd...just didnt know why some fonts didnt antialias at all(when small)
I'm not a total doofus,I knew clear type was mainly for lcd...just didnt know why some fonts didnt antialias at all(when small)
Bebi Bulma
Reply #13 Sunday, February 11, 2007 4:37 PM
I'm not sure if it's actually Arial or MS Sans Serif or something else like that, but here's a screenie: click.
Reply #13 Sunday, February 11, 2007 4:37 PM
Bebi Bulba: Your Arial font doesn't anti-alias with ClearType? How bizzare. ClearType should anti-alias all fonts. Can you post a screenie of samples?
I'm not sure if it's actually Arial or MS Sans Serif or something else like that, but here's a screenie: click.
vStyler
Reply #15 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 4:42 PM
Reply #15 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 4:42 PM
you font sleuth you!!
You know what I use.. Also to avoid any of these issues use a square type font that has no edges that need antialiased.
I know it limits font choices but works perfectly if all u want are uniformly smooth fonts.
You know what I use..
Also to avoid any of these issues use a square type font that has no edges that need antialiased.I know it limits font choices but works perfectly if all u want are uniformly smooth fonts.
I.R. Brainiac
Reply #16 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 5:47 PM
Reply #16 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 5:47 PM
yeah John,I found a great one on ...OptimaNova bold SC. Very readable and looks good at many different point sizes.
Very readable and looks good at many different point sizes.
thomassen
Reply #17 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 5:57 PM
Yes, That is MS Sans Serif and will not anti-alias since it's not a TrueType or OpenType font. It's annoying that these legacy fonts are still used these days. I think I found a little hack somewhere which forced Windows to use replacement fonts for these types of fonts. It should be somewhere in my pile of bookmarks. ...which there was a good bookmark manager...
Reply #17 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 5:57 PM
I'm not sure if it's actually Arial or MS Sans Serif or something else like that, but here's a screenie
Yes, That is MS Sans Serif and will not anti-alias since it's not a TrueType or OpenType font. It's annoying that these legacy fonts are still used these days. I think I found a little hack somewhere which forced Windows to use replacement fonts for these types of fonts. It should be somewhere in my pile of bookmarks. ...which there was a good bookmark manager...
Bebi Bulma
Reply #18 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 7:24 PM
Reply #18 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 7:24 PM
I thought I had changed it in the registry somewhere, but I guess it didn't get everything. Now I can't remember how I did it. 
vStyler
Reply #19 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 7:57 PM
Have you tried post-its?
Reply #19 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 7:57 PM
thomassenFebruary 14, 2007 17:57:50Reply #17
which there was a good bookmark manager...
Have you tried post-its?
thomassen
Reply #20 Thursday, February 15, 2007 6:17 AM
Reply #20 Thursday, February 15, 2007 6:17 AM
Evil post-it notes! Evil! Always telling you to remember to do something... grrr...
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Reply #1 Sunday, February 11, 2007 3:30 AM